KEY POINTS:
Here is an earlier selection of Your Views:
Conrad
Firstly my Condolences to the Family. Pacific families do not burden others with whatever problems they may have. It's common amongst Pacific families not to worry others within the family or extended family, if you struggle you struggle with a smile and keep the spirit of the family high. Don't blame the children for not ringing the ambulance, they are young and done what any kid would do what their mother tells them. To the contractor: Because you cut the power Im sorry that you may become a scapegoat for the power company, as we all know those above will sacrifice those below.To the Company: Money has always been the bottom line for companies so it doesn't surprise me that you distance yourself from the contractor and dispute the families version of events.
Chris B.
While Mercury are in the gun, it was the contractor's decision to cut the power off and he is cupable. This could be a case of manslaughter. Let's get real. These guys go around and their attitude to any comments is:" It's not my argument. I'm here to do a job - cut the power off - and that's what I'm going to do." The person contractors have to take responsibility too and not just sheet it back to Mercury.
Ozland
No one knows the family. No one knows the full story. So no one can judge!
Spike
While the death of Mrs Muliaga is tragic, one cannot or should not totally blame the power company. In the month leading up to the power being cut off there would have been plenty of time to contact Mercury Energy, Social Welfare, or any number of other agencies that could have helped. If the power is to be turned off people do whatever means necessary to pay the bill especially considering how vital power was in this situation's totally disagree with a comment made regarding fining the company heavily...if that happened where do you think the money would come from, they won't loose profit to pay a fine..more simply increase the prices to cover it.Two things need to be considered. 1 being that there is vastly differing stories of what happened. And secondly, if the power was so vital where was the back up plan? Who would you blame if Mrs Muliaga had have died in the middle of the night because a car smashed into a power poll taking out the power for several hours?
Christine
Power companies cannot hide behind the contractors. But in saying that in this instance, what was she doing at home and as far as I can see, permanently on a life support system. That is what I find bizarre. Dont you think that something else must have been wrong to have a life support system like that at home. She could have rung the ambulance before they cut off the power. I get the feeling there is something more deeper than just cutting off the power with her health, and that is what they are using as an excuse.
Christine Ioasa
My sympathy goes out to Lopa & his family. I knew Lopa when I was working at the Centra Auckland Airport Hotel 3 years ago and he is a hard working family man.
My concern is to why the Mercury Energy Contractor did contact the power company to explain the situation? But on the other hand, the family should of call the ambulance to take her to the hospital. All I could say to Lopa is to stay strong.Much Alofas to your aiga..
Chris
Helen Clark says NZ is embarrassed by this being broadcast overseas. I think she and the other ignorants who believe that this woman relied on oxygen to live should be embarrassed. As if she would be sent home from hospital after a month as an inpatient to be dependent on an oxygen source, and that the same oxygen source relied solely on power??? As Dr Don Mackie said, she was hardly on a ventilator! Going by reports on her medical history, she died of heart failure and no matter whether she was on an oxygen source at home or not, she would have died without some urgent medical attention that the family should have sought regardless of the power disconnection. And what a hoot that now people who face disconnection will possibly get their bill sorted by WINZ, aka the taxpayer. Great!
S'Pia
I for one would like to see the outcome of the coroners report to see weither it was the cause of her power being cut or she had another illness that contributed to her dying so quickly. I realise that she needed her oxygen to help her breathe but can't help thinking of how sick she was to begin with. Also what would of happened if there was a power cut to the whole street or to the whole of Auckland for that matter, would we be blaming Mercury Energy for that as well?, as there are alot of different factors that cause power cuts. What would the family have done in that situation. Blows me away it does.
Claude
We all do not have the whole story but have to rely on the media. From the information received it appears that :1. The deceased suffered from a heart and lung condition.2. She was released from hospital with a machine to help whenever she had difficulties, as a stand-by and not 24/7 3.The Electricity company warned that the power would be cut off well in advance. They are not a welfare organization. 4.The telephone was not cut off and help could have been summoned. Therefore, do not lay the blame on the Electricity Company who need their accounts to be paid in order to operate.
Michele Cook
Let me say that I've run screaming back to Canada because of just this type of draconian BS which is the norm in this country now. I'm a born & bred NZer & I'm utterly disgusted with what's happened to NZ. We are over-governed, at all levels, & the average joe has zero power against the system. If one stands up to be counted..wham, you're labelled a trouble maker & it follows you. I am not in the least surprised this poor woman & her family have been so victimised. No one is running the ship..just a bunch of out of control mini despots who are the reason for these constant horrors. All the cute little brochures & pamphlets informing you of your 'rights' are nothing more than window dressing. Public buildings in NZ are wallpapered with this crap but they mean nothing. I tried using some of these magic systems while there & the results were laughable....all fluff. So, now you have a death...directly attributable to this lack of accessible leadership. Way too many folk in the bloody kitchen but no damn chef!
William
I'm very sad and angry to hear the news! I'm very surprise it can happen in New Zealand! I thought this type of inhuman action only can happen in Asian or Africa countries. I never think it really happen in this western country!
Mark Raymond
The question that has to be asked is which of the following is more likely to be true?
a - The contractor ignored pleas to leave desperately needed medical equipment functioning, and disconnected power despite clear written procedures instructing him not to disconnect in such a situation - a practice he had followed on previous occasions or b - The young man didn't think about the consequences of the power being cut off and said nothing, and Mrs Muliaga was too proud to say anything, and did not want to be a burden, so she said nothing either. When we realise that the family did nothing to get any medical assistance for Mrs Muliaga until she collapsed a couple of hours later I think we have to accept that option b is far and away the most likely.So far all we've seen is Mr Sheehan, who wasn't there, putting the case against the contractor, and Mercury management, who were not there, putting up his defence. In truth none of the spokesmen know what happened, but I have to say that the contractors story is far the likelier.
Chris Bradley
Just to let you know that this story has made the news in London. I am reading The Times and it is a full-page story with coloured photo on page 5. It has a big, bold 2-lined headline right across the page reading; She relied on an oxygen machine. The electricity firm cut off the power. Hours later, she was dead.This is followed by an 8 point summary of "What to do if you can't pay."
Bruce
I'm tending to the view that the main responsibility lies with family members, who had ample time to summon medical assistance. They also had ample time in which to negotiate a new payment arrangement in view of their medical need for electricity. Though there are more details to learn of this case, it's too easy, if not a little disingenuous or even dishonest, to lay the entire blame at the feet of big business.
Bernard Montgomerie
What about the Church they belonged to? I would bet that they were tied to the church for at least 10 per cent to 20 per cent and this is borne about that instead of calling an ambulance they sung hymns.
Carlene
I'm not normally one to write comments about news, but this just makes me sick, As sad as it is that this lady died, it was not the power company that killed her. The family didn't get her to the hospital it's so plain and simple. If you want power you pay your bill like everyone else has to in the world, why should some people get away with not paying. It doesn't matter about the facts of who did or said what, or who knew or didn't know, the family could of sent her to the hospital until the bill had been paid or power reconnected. After all we are lucky that we still have a free hospital service.
cP
You have a choice of Electricity Supplier.In light of the events of recent days many Mercury Customers may choose to send a message to their supplier. The strongest message they can send is to choose another supplier.
B
NZ journalism is absolutely appalling, is anyone else fed up with the way news is put across to NZers these days?- First of all, yes it is tragic that this family has lost a loved one whenever someone dies its very unfortunate. However.... What I don't understand is that no one is looking at the black and white fact that if you do not pay your power bill it gets switched off- regardless of the fact that the money owing was very small- that doesn't change the fact that they hadn't paid their bills. I think the family could have gone and made alternative arrangements- ie- called for an ambulance when she started to feel unwell. From what I have read the machine was only to be used when she had difficulty breathing, she was not totally dependant on the machine as per portrayed by the media. I don't feel the power company has dealt with the situation badly at all.
Bob
My elderly Mother lives alone, and can sometimes get mixed up about bills and stuff.It's unthinkable that she could be at the mercy of such a ruthless profit orientated provider.All essential services such as water, sewer, and
electric, should have safety mechanisms, where, for example, the City Council must agree before any household has services terminated!
Brian Mac
I dispute the allegation that 'Mercenary Energy' are corporate bullies who prey on the weak of South Auckland. In fact they don't discriminate, they are heavy handed with all their 'customers', if a single payment is missed. I have my bill for two properties emailed (at Mercury's encouragement, to save them money). In January this year, my ISP suffered a spam attack and I didn't get my monthly account. Being the holiday period, I didn't realise it, and missed the month's payment. The result was what I considered an excessive and heavy-handed response from Mercury, threatening disconnection within 7 days, all over my first ever missed payment in 30 years. I wondered what a guy has to do to be considered a 'good customer' down there at Mercury Energy. How many years does one have to go before missing a payment to avoid the goon squads?? I naturally took offence and resolved to investigate other electricity retailers, but have been busy and not got around to it. Needless to say this disgusting episode, made so much more sordid by the attempts of Mercury executives to wriggle off the hook, will hurry me along. There may not be much to choose between electricity retailing oligopolies, but if a retailer who gets it this wrong suffers a substantial shrinkage of customer base as a result, it does nevertheless send a strong message that 'customers' are not entirely powerless (so to speak), and that there is a limit to the degree of ruthlessness they're prepared to accept.
Brendan
State Owned Enterprise, third world healthcare and the underclass collide. Now all we need is a scapegoat who had nothing to do with it.Aunty Helen strikes again!
Ben
I live in Australia, but before moving here I used to work as a Field Officer for the gas company. The thing I learnt in this environment was the company policy basically tells you to cut the gas off, if you can't pay your bill. Yes you are given warnings, but the bottom line is if you don't pay you get your gas cut off. When you are born and raised in South Auckland and your Polynesian you know the struggles of hardship trying to pay over due bills. My first time was on my own and it was my last place, the island lady was cooking for her husband, and they had fallen behind their bills. He had only started that week, I explained to her that because her bill had not being paid, I had to cut her gas off, of course being in Otara, I had a side kick with me, I cut her gas off and went home. I did not sleep well that night, I tossed and turned and swore that night if the people were genuine and I gave them a chance to try pay there over dues, I would put my job on the line and give them that chance. This thing with the power company goes back to the contractor, he is paid to do a job, and he is only following company policy. He now has to live with his decision about what happened and now with this incident happening, it will make Mercury address this problem with out it ever occurring again.
Gareth
It is sad that the family lost their mother/ wife when it could have been avoidable. However, when you have a family member who is dependent on something for their every day well being you always put measures in place to avoid something like this happening. Power cuts in New Zealand are relatively rare but when they do occur, a lot of the time they are due to something beyond the control of the power company, be it strong winds or a possum in the wrong place. Had there been a power cut for 3 hours would the ladies family have sat back and waited while she died? Who would the finger be pointed at then? The family members are to a large extent accountable as well for not doing anything. A simple call for an ambulance and this would not have happened.
Bell
I believed that Mercury should stop ignoring the facts and start putting their acts together, as some viewers say they will get what's coming to them and they should pay for mistake as well as learning from them, we can go on and on about this but at the end of the day, a woman's dead already so no amount of words, or no amount of money can bring her back, and the poor family should receive some supporting words from everyone instead of judging them, I think that everyone should put themselves in this family position and see how it feels to lose someone you love for such a small amount of money? Its really disappointing to hear that people are pointing fingers at the family when all the son was doing was to respect her mother in what she wanted, may Gods love and warmth be upon this family throughout this terrible time.
Ben
They didn't put a foot wrong? quite clearly they are calling the family liars, this is just offensive and wrong I think Mercury clearly are criminally responsible and the government should act against them and this contractor. This company is owned by the public and I'd say the majority of NZ expect justice.
Ben Iki
If ever a corporation did not want bad publicity , they are truly riding the wave of" let this nightmare end", if there is another electricity company , they must be rubbing there hands with glee.Profits are what pays the General Manager his/her bonuses and they will hopefully think they can ride this one out.Imagine if your a shareholder, they will be hoping that this nightmare will end. Regardless who was right or wrong , the bottom line is someone died and Mercury PR Manager will be definitely trying to work thei magic when everyone leaves Mercury for another company.Mercury Energy will be remembered for the wrong reason. This is big news right around the world.
Anne Rennie
Great article. That is exactly where NZ is at now! It has nothing to do with politics. It is about having no consistent value system and the destruction of the most basic principles which have always existed in NZ. This is the result of the actions/philosophies of successive governments but especially this Labour one. It is because they have actively sought to destroy NZ cultural values - divide and rule - while they further their own dubious agenda. You say that it was National that privatised and that is true. But it was Helen Clarke who first introduced charges into the Health system and how many now can't get health care? It used to be that one person could maintain a family and there was someone to help if they could not. Now, two people have to work to sustain one household. Does NZ want to be a country where people die because they cannot afford to live? The country I grew up in would never have tolerated this. Where has it gone? Turned into a religious argument it seems so that we can legalise prostitution and civil unions.
Rawiri Johnston
I'm waiting to hear what the coroner has to say as to the exact cause of this poor woman's death. I'm presuming the hospital would not send this lady home in such a frail condition that the loss of her machine would cause this - at the same time I'm a bit suspicious that the DHB commented so early on in this case (perhaps they suspect they will be next under the spotlight).Whether or not the loss of the machine was the cause, certainly the stress of having the power disconnected, when you're at home recovering from hospital, with an oxygen machine must have been a contributing factor. For Mercury and their contractor "we didn't know" is not a defence (i.e - I'm sorry office I didn't know I was speeding when I hit that pedestrian, etc). If their actions contributed to this woman's death, either knowingly or unwittingly, they will face charges. Ignorance of the situation is not a defence - and neither should it be. One of the critical factors here will be whether or not the contractor or Mercury could have reasonably concluded (even if they weren't told - which is disputed by the family)that this women had a medical condition that would be put at risk through disconnection of the power. If, as the Mercury letter indicates, the contractor spoke to the women while she was wearing a tube in her nasal passage - then there may have been sufficient cause for the contractor to "suspect" a medical problem was present. That 2 hours elapsed from the time of the disconnection to the woman's death, and no additional medical attention was sought, is irrelevant. The question is what caused or started the series of events that lead to her death.Hopefully this event will lead to some necessary changes. I'm also hoping the contractor is not hung out to dry while the Government's own SOE is found to have correctly followed procedures. As with the Liam Ashley case - if someone dies then clearly procedures were not sufficient and someone needs to be held accountable. People don't die in the care of the Govt Ministry, or on the end of an SOE process without someone having made a wrong decision somewhere. While my sympathy goes out to the family, it is also extended to the contractor, as this is a situation no one would want to be a part of.
Will
The power company was acting as per its policy. The family did not ring anyone, but basically let their mother die. The machine in question is not some kind of life support machine like a ventilator. It was not even a positive-pressure airway machine. It was simply an oxygen concentrator. I question whether the woman would have died anyway? All those protesting outside Mercury,were and are deluded. The PM should keep her nose out of it as well.
A Longuet
The CEO and members of the Board of Mighty River Power, the parent company should be made to resign. The directions come from the Board and the CEO. MRP have an arrogant attitude towards consumers and should be made to pay for their lack of compassion and social responsibility.
Ahila
Mercury stinks. They're simply unbelievable. They have neither an iota of compassion nor empathy for fellow human beings. I've been with Genesis for six years now and have never ever had to deal with a difficult situation despite having been late with my bills often. The people responsible for this tragedy deserve punishment on a grand scale. If this punishment is not inflicted on them by the relevant authorities, then I think that New Zealand is regressing to a third world nation.
Anonymous
I believe that if Mercury Energy had known that someone's life depended on the power supply, they would not have gone ahead and disconnected it, regardless of the amount owed to them. It appears that this tragedy happened mostly due to miscommunication between Mercury Energy and the family members. It is very clear however that the family had at least three hours to do something about Mrs Muliaga's situation-simply call an ambulance..yes it costs money but it would save a life that can never be replaced now. NZ is very generous when handing out benefits and this family would have had the help had they asked and taken action.
Barbara
No one should have to die over unpaid power account.All services Power, Water, Telephone. just keep going up & up, how can normal people on low wages but work every day afford to pay for price increases Nothing ever goes down and you need 2 adult wages to survive.Shame on you all, greedy, for more money, not all can afford to pay
Sarah
although I feel sorry for the family that their mother has died, I do think they could have done more. There are government agencies they could have taken the bill too to help get paid, they could have sought medical attention sooner. Its not fair on those who do pay their bills on time to have to 'cover' those who dont. Mercury Energy are a business and like all businesses need money to continue.
ann
Its about time contractors and Mercury put there heads together, and stop hiding things under the carpet.There was a sick woman, and all you could do is cut power off, if they had hard times paying bill off why didn't you at least make attempt to go and knock on the door and see what both parties could do to get the outstanding bill paid, I find very fast to cut off, but not slow to turn on, and you know why cause thats $$$$$$ for the company. All in office need to pull your heads together and start thinking twice before you cause another foul up.
Lisa
I don't blame Mercury. What happened was sad, but have the family done enough for the beloved mother at her difficult times? Can't her 18-year-old and 20-year-old sons do some part job to financially help the family? What the family have done to help the poor mother before she passed way? If the family couldn't take responsibly for the beloved one why they expect the others should? I think before they blame anyone else they should check if they have tried the best to help.
Adrian
Reading this from Germany the excuse "just following orders" sounds hauntingly familiar. Mercury continue to read aloud from the procedures to justify what they have done instead of making any real indication they understand that through their actions 4 children are now missing their mother. Shame on you, Doug Heffernan.
Adrien
I think Mercury is copping too much for this.It's obviously appalling that someone died because they lost power, but that raises other issues. What if someone had crashed into a power pole down the road and cut off the power that way? Would they be charged with murder for the consequences? Could the people who waited to call the ambulance be charged with not doing enough to keep her alive? couldn't they have taken her and the machine next door? Or called an ambulance earlier? In situations where continuity of electricity supply is required to keep people alive (i.e. in a hospital), there are backup systems. Hospitals have backup generators. If this woman's life depended on a power supply, there should have been a backup, or she should not have been released into the community in that state, but rather she should have been in hospital. It's not Mercury Energy's fault that someone was in such a vulnerable state and reliant on electricity. She shouldn't have been there in that state.
Alex Reedijk
This sounds desperately feeble and as a proud NZer residing in the UK I was deeply ashamed when this item was mentioned on the Radio 4 news this morning as an indication of how life (and death) are valued in our 'modern' NZ. and now hiding behind the contractor - - stand up and say, yes we made a mistake, yes we are ashamed and yes it will never happen again!! All for $168.00. Yours in despair.
Richard
This lady died three hours after the power was turned off. She refused help from an ambulance. So someone tell me how this is Mercury's fault? Sorry but three hours? And we are to believe Mercury are to blame because she didn't get help within that time period and because she refused help within that time period. Three hours sounds more like the family should be investigated for manslaughter, not the contractor and not Mercury.
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